Flu Diet: Should You Start A Diet When You Have A Cold?

What happens if you’ve psyched yourself into being ready for a new weight loss diet and you come down with the sniffles? Is it wise to start a new diet when you may be struggling with a cold?

Hopefully, you’ve chosen a healthy diet, so there's no reason to give up on your new eating plan entirely. But you may want to tweak it into more of a cold and flu diet.

Both influenza and the common cold are viral infections, but there’s a big difference. A cold will fizzle out in time, but the flu can be devastating. And, because they’re not bacterial, antibiotics won’t be of any use at all.

This doesn’t mean you’re without help. From grandma's chicken soup for the soul to Popeye’s spinach for mighty muscles, eating well is nature’s best immunity booster.

Drink plenty of water and fluids

Dehydration is dangerous, depleting minerals and salts (electrolytes) from the body. When this happens, the cells in your body cannot receive and use the much-needed water. Issues of fever, diarrhea, or inability to hold liquids down make the need for fluids even more critical.

Coconut water contains natural electrolytes, is mild-tasting and easy on the stomach, plus without the typical additives found in sports beverages.

Broth of any kind—such as vegetable, chicken, beef, and bone broth—is nourishing and can be soothing to a scratchy sore throat.

Other warm liquids, such as teas, help the body speed up mucus movement through the nose. It’s fine to sweeten with honey as it brings healthy antibacterial, antifungal, and antibiotic properties. Even a sensitive stomach can easily convert honey into energy for the body.

Vegetable Juices are a fantastic fuel to supply nutrients and antioxidants to the body while keeping you hydrated and feeling rejuvenated.

Dairy, as in milk, cheese, or ice cream, won’t cause the body to produce more phlegm as many think. But, according to the Mayo Clinic, dairy can make the mucus thicker and more irritating to an already sore throat.

Fermented foods, like kefir and yogurt, are helpful to the immune system. They’re full of gut-friendly probiotics willing to fight on your behalf when it's time to fortify against the nasty flu. It can also be diluted with water to make it easy to drink. 

Protein can be your best friend during the flu season. Protein-packed Almased is often used for weight loss because it satisfies the appetite, strengthens metabolism, and is so nutritional that it can safely substitute for an entire meal. 

Almased is low-glycemic and high-protein (LGHP) – 27 grams of protein per serving – or a full 35 grams when mixed with soy or almond milk.

As mentioned, protein is king during weight loss and when the body is extra busy fighting off bad bugs. It is crucial for strong immunity and cellular repair, and reproduction. 

Most importantly, Almased’s multi-protein formula is easy to digest. The availability of amino acids and bioactive peptides is further increased by a unique fermentation process using active enzymes from natural sources – non-GMO soy, cultured yogurt, and raw honey!

Did you know that even after production, when the Almased canister is sealed, the fermentation process continues? That is how Almased remains an active, living food that boosts the immune system with probiotics and supports the body in so many different ways.

Almased recommends eating carbs that are unrefined and unprocessed in your everyday diet, when you diet for weight loss, and during bouts with a cold or the flu. These “healthy anytime” carbs come from whole foods like whole grains, fruit and veggies. See Almased’s healthy food list here.

Sugar is the most inflammatory ingredient you can eat. It aggravates the intestinal tract and upsets the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut.

For that reason, overly sweet high-carbohydrate foods with added sugar are best eliminated, especially when combined with fats, such as pastries, donuts, pies, and cakes. 

If digestion is compromised during sickness, some "healthy" foods may be too hard for a weakened digestive tract. If a rare thick steak or a tossed kale salad don’t appeal, that’s your body’s inner intelligence talking.

Don’t overlook that the non-GMO soy in Almased is an excellent healthy alternative to red meat. 

You'll probably feel better by eating less food more often rather than the usual three squares a day. Snacking on half a serving of Almased at a time works well, too, and you’ll find it’s easy to mix up quickly.